Explaining its stand on the proposed Constitution, the SLFP said it is for the constitutional amendments and full devolution of power under the 13th Amendment.
The Supreme Court has held that Sri Lanka is a unitary state under the 13th Amendment. The SLFP’s position is that what has been given under the 13th Amendment must be given in full, Minister for Special Assignments Dr. Sarath Amunugama told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
“The SLFP is also of the view that devolution must be balanced with a centralizing process in the figure of the country’s President. In any Constitution, there are centrifugal and centripetal features. A Constitution must have devolution so that minorities and the people in the periphery feel that they have a right to control their future and live in dignity. The centralizing attributes must remain as a national entity,” he said.
Dr. Amunugama said the SLFP strongly feels that the post of the President must remain. “When the powers are devolved fully, it should also have a centralizing power in the form of the President. In a country like Sri Lanka, there should be one person who is selected by all the people irrespective of caste, creed and religion because everybody has participated in electing a President and they all have a claim on the President. If we remove it, it will be a very strong blow to the national identity.”
He said the Executive Presidency is the brainchild of the UNP. “It cannot be believed that the UNP will also not accept the position of a President because that is the hallmark of the J.R. Jayewardena Constitution. What has happened today is that those who were against the J.R.J. Constitution are strongly for it and others who supported are against it today. All this has to be sorted out in the constitutional-making process. I strongly believe, we have to follow a middle path.”